Council approves consultant for park assessment district

Friday

Dec 22, 2017 at 9:15 AMDec 22, 2017 at 9:25 AM

Jessica Weston City Editor Jessica_Weston9

The Ridgecrest City Council at its meeting Wednesday approved a $92,500 contract with CSI Consulting group to provide advice on establishing a park assessment district. According to City Manager Ron Strand the city can choose to opt out of the agreement after $4,500 is spent on an initial planning assessment to determine the viability of the project.

If approved, the district would provide a revenue stream for parks and recreation maintenance. Strand said he came to council with the request after much consideration because of a long-standing need for more funding to maintain city parks and recreation equipment and improve the community's quality of life.

The park assessment district requires a string of actions to put into place, including a majority vote of property owners. It would have to be re-approved annually after an annual report. The estimated average parcel assessment would be $49 annually. This number is a proposed target, however, and potentially subject to change. At this amount the assessment would bring in around $500,000 per year. Strand estimated it will take almost $12.4 million to cover proposed projects he recommends for local parks and recreational areas. These would not include additional parks, he said.

“I am not talking about more parks, we're just talking about taking care of what we currently have,” Strand said.

Strand added the $92,500 contract breaks down roughly as follows. The $4,500 goes to initial feasibility and planning research, which will result in a deliverable memo of some sort to the city laying out the feasibility of going forward with the project.

According to Strand, the city can choose to opt out of the contract at this point. The decision is technically Strand's, but he said he would abide by council's wishes.

After that $59,500 is for the assessment engineering and the engineer's report; $16,250 for the assessment balloting proceeding; $9,700 community outreach and $2,500 for incidentals.

Councilman Wallace Martin and members of the public complained about the decision being brought before council on short notice. Mayor Peggy Breeden read into the record a long letter from Mike Neel questioning the idea as being premature. In response to a question, Breeden said that public meetings will be held prior to the vote.

Public comment included many people opposed to the idea, largely for financial reasons.

“I don't have any kids and I don't use the park so I don't want to pay for it,” Dave Matthews said. Matthews added that as a retired person with a limited income he was concerned about additional expenses.

“I just feel like I am being taxed and taxed and taxed,” Denise Kight said.“I do applaud city staff for trying to do something, “ Stan Rajtora said. “I don't think this is the right thing to do.”

Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzette Caufield spoke up. Caufield said after hearing of the topic very recently she distributed a survey. Of 358 questionnaires, she received 11 back. Of these, 10 were positive and one negative.

“I think there really needs to be more time to get the information out,” she said.

Speaking up in favor of the idea were football and cheer Coach Mike Stafford and former Councilman and Mayor Chip Holloway.

Stafford said that deteriorating field conditions make practices difficult.“In the last two seasons, coaches have had to alter their practices and accommodate for the possibility of injury due to the conditions of the fields. I have seen a player slip and break his arm because the ground beneath him was like sand on concrete,” he said.

Stafford added that a popular quip is, “If you can run on our field, you can run on any field,” a joke he called “funny but dangerously true and embarrassing.”

Stafford said he also supported maintaining other properties.“Something has to happen or we are going to end up with [another] Pinney Pool situation,” Stafford said. “This is money now to prevent [the city from] paying an individual millions of dollars later.”

Also at issue is whether the proposed assessment would be used to renovate Pinney Pool, which was closed earlier this year due to Americans with Disability Act compliance issues. The pool needs to be brought up to current ADA compliance, which would cost an estimated $3 million, according to Strand.

The Indian Wells Valley Economic Development Corporation, meanwhile, has been researching the possibility of establishing a larger aquatic center for the area. This idea has met with much public support and enthusiasm. Strand said that, if passed, the district could provide a “backstop” of funding to repair Pinney Pool in case the IWV EDC plans don't pan out.IWV EDC Executive Director Scott O'Neil was in attendance at the meeting. He said that the city's plans and the IWV EDC's plans do not have to be mutually exclusive.

“We don't have to make this either/or,” he said. “We can plan things out and we can make smart decisions regarding Pinney Pool and the Aquatic Center. I think there's ways to do this and I think we have to work together.”

O'Neil said that speaking as a citizen, he does use the parks and they have been deteriorating over the years.

“Our community is getting more new people and the community is getting younger and I think we've got to start thinking about that, because that's future revenue streams for us in the city and in the community at large,” he said. “The community needs to start building brightness for the future.”

Council members debated the issue at length. Martin suggested putting the contract out for an RFP (not required, according to Strand). Councilwoman Lindsey Stephens asked about awarding the $4,500 and putting the rest of the contract out for an RFP, which Strand said was not feasible.

Both eventually voted to approve the contract. Apparently decisive was the purported ability of the city to bow out of the contract with only $4,500 spent.

Approval was unanimous. All five council members were present.

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